» Author: Kate Sherwood

New releases: April 1st, 2013

April 1, 2013

The Knight by Kate Sherwood

Before the revolution, Adam was a rich idealist and Remy a jaded prostitute. After, they’re still fighting for their lives—and each other. The Knight by Kate Sherwood, available from Dreamspinner Press.

Against the Odds: Book Two; Sequel to The Pawn

Things were confusing enough before the revolution, when Adam Challoner was a rich idealist and Remy Stone a jaded prostitute. After months of fighting, Adam has risen to become the leader of the continent. Now he’s responsible for feeding his people and holding the country together.

But without a fight, without a purpose, Remy scrambles to find his place in the freedom of the postrevolution world. When his quest takes him away from the capitol, Adam can’t object. Remy was a slave before the revolution—Adam won’t deny him his freedom now.

Then an attempt on Adam’s life brings Remy back to his side. In his new role as bodyguard, Remy keeps his distance, but neither he nor Adam can ignore the connection between them. For them to be together, Remy needs to free himself from the damage inflicted by his past, and Adam has to fight through the restrictions of his present. But as the political situation deteriorates, Adam and Remy once again find themselves fighting for their lives—and for each other.

Length: Novel (212p.) | Genre: Science Fiction | Release Date: April 1, 2013 |Buy as eBook (ISBN: 978-1-62380-473-2) | Buy as Paperback (ISBN: 978-1-62380-472-5)

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Play Me, I’m Yours by Madison Parker

Even though Lucas hasn’t come out, his mom and his friend try to set him up with boys—just not the one he wants. Play Me, I’m Yours by Madison Parker, available from Harmony Ink Press.

Fairy Tate. Twinklefingers. Lucy Lu. Will the taunting ever end? Lucas Tate suffers ridicule because of his appearance and sensitive nature. When he’s not teased, he’s ignored, and now he doesn’t know which is worse. His one comfort in life is his music; he feels unloved by everyone. What he wants more than anything is to find a friend.

Much to his dismay, both his mom and a schoolmate are determined to find him a boyfriend, despite the fact Lucas hasn’t come out to them. His mom chooses a football player who redefines the term “heartthrob,” while Trish pushes him toward the only openly gay boy at Providence High. But Lucas is harboring a crush on another boy, one who writes such romantic poetry to his girlfriend that hearing it melts Lucas into a puddle of goo. All three prospects seem so far out of his league. Lucas is sure he doesn’t stand a chance with any of them—until sharing his gift for music brings him the courage to let people into his heart.

Length: Novel (244p.) | Genre: Contemporary, Gay, YA | Release Date: April 1, 2013 |Buy as eBook (ISBN: 978-1-62380-450-3) | Buy as Paperback (ISBN: 978-1-62380-449-7)

Beneath the Surface by Kate Sherwood

August 20, 2012

A challenge might turn two opposites to surrender to the flames of love. Beneath the Surface by Kate Sherwood, available from Dreamspinner Press.

When Peter Carr’s company sends him to Southwestern Ontario to sweet-talk the town into agreeing to a gravel quarry proposal, he welcomes the challenge. Technically he’s a lawyer, but really he’s a problemsolver. He just never expected the problem to be Caleb Sinclair, the passionate but introverted artisan carpenter who lives next to the proposed quarry site.

“Know your enemy.” That’s Caleb’s philosophy. And trying to turn fertile farmland into a gravel pit earns Peter the title of “enemy.” Caleb loves that land, and if he has to make peace with his homophobic neighbors to make war on Peter, so be it. Except knowing his enemy doesn’t turn out anything like he expected. Peter’s not the fairy-tale monster—he just might be the first step to happy ever after.

Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary

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More Than Chemistry by Kate Sherwood

March 1, 2012

Will Jack choose love over appearances? More Than Chemistry by Kate Sherwood, available from Dreamspinner Press.

Jack Lawson grew up poor and can’t forget it. He’s a huge success in the business world, but it won’t be enough until the image of “poor little Jack” is completely wiped away. When Jack runs into his old friend, Noah Mercier, he decides that Noah’s sister, an up-and-coming movie star, would be the perfect evidence of glamorous success. If Jack can win Hayley, it will be clear to everyone, including himself, that he has truly arrived.

The problem with Jack’s grand plan is that he’s more attracted to Noah. Jack’s never worried about the gender of his conquests, but Noah just isn’t flashy enough for Jack’s scheme to set the world on fire… unless Jack realizes he has practically no control over deciding who he wants—and even less choice in who he needs.

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Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella

New Tricks by Kate Sherwood

September 7, 2011

New Tricks by Kate Sherwood

Quinn Donahue’s put in a long, hard day at his lover Aaron Miller’s family horse farm, and he’s looking forward to a hot bath and a good night’s sleep. But that’s before he finds Aaron waiting for him in their dark apartment, apparently in the mood to play a game. Aaron was a virgin when he’d hooked up with Quinn, while Quinn was the furthest thing from innocent. So if Aaron wants to experiment a little, then Quinn feels privileged to play along.

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Genre: Western
Length: Short story

Shying Away by Kate Sherwood

April 11, 2011

Will Aaron overcome Quinn’s hesitations and get the man of his dreams? Shying Away (m/m) by Kate Sherwood, available from Dreamspinner Press.

Quinn Donahue will do anyone once, so when Aaron Miller spots Quinn making his moves in a Vancouver gay bar, Aaron thinks he’s found just the guy to relieve him of his unwanted virginity. Quinn, however, has apparently decided to make an exception to his usual open-bed policy. He may be an unrepentant connoisseur of one-night stands, but he’s not going to disappoint a sweet kid like Aaron by giving him a hot night and then leaving while the sheets are still warm.

After Quinn takes a job at Aaron’s family horse farm, Aaron spots both the demons and the decency that drive Quinn’s frequent brush-offs, and it makes Aaron want him even more. But Quinn is determined that Aaron won’t go home with a man who doesn’t deserve him, so he starts sending likely candidates Aaron’s way. It takes a grim act of sacrifice for Aaron to realize exactly why Quinn’s been so skittish, and he’ll have to keep a firm grip on the man of his dreams to keep Quinn from shying away.

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Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel

“Rode Hard and Put Away Wet” by Kate Sherwood, from the ‘Riding Double’ Anthology. Post #2!

February 20, 2011

I had a hard time with the ending for “Rode Hard and Put Away Wet”.  Actually, I think I have a hard time with story endings in general.  It sounds strange, given the genre in which I’m writing, but I’m really not much of a romantic.  It’s hard for me to believe in a fairy tale “Happily Ever After,” and it’s important to me that my writing be believable.  So even in my novels, I tend to slip towards “Happy For Now” endings.  It’s not that I don’t think my characters stay together – I really believe that they do.  I just think that they have to keep fighting for it.

This was really clear to me in the Dark Horse series.  (Dark Horse and Out of the Darkness) One of the reasons that I was happy to write as many extras for it as I did (they’re available at my website, www.katesherwoodbooks.com) was because I liked being able to show that the guys were still struggling, but still holding on.  So maybe that actually makes me a total romantic.  I believe in the power of love.  I don’t think it can erase all obstacles, but I believe that it can give people a reason to keep fighting, even through the toughest times.

With “Rode Hard and Put Away Wet” my first ending was “The kid took the towel.”  That line’s still in there, but I go on for another five hundred words after it, explaining and elaborating.  It’s a bit of a violation of the minimalist cowboy aesthetic that I was going for when I started writing, but I think it makes sense.  Even in a short story, people need some degree of closure, right?  I might know what was going to happen to the guys after the shower, but that wasn’t quite enough; I had to give the readers at least a bit more to go on.  And I know it sounds sort of ostentatiously artsy, but I felt like I had to give the characters a bit more, too.  I like both of them, and I don’t want to leave them hanging.  So, another five hundred words.

I think I made the right decision, but I’d love to hear what readers think.  I’ll be in and out of the blog today, but I can also be reached through my website (address above).

“Rode Hard, Put Away Wet” by Kate Sherwood, in the ‘Riding Double’ Anthology

February 20, 2011

Cowboys.  Sexy as hell, obviously, but kind of hard to write about, at least for me.  My characters like to talk, but the thing I like best about the cowboy ideal is that they’re laconic and stoic.  If I was going to write a cowboy, I wanted to make myself write a cowboy.

And them that don’t know him won’t like him and them that do
Sometimes won’t know how to take him
He ain’t wrong, he’s just different but his pride won’t let him
Do things to make you think he’s right.
(“Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”, by Ed and Patsy Bruce).

But that wasn’t quite enough.  Hell, I wanted to write a desperado.

Oh, you’re a hard one
But I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin’ you
Can hurt you somehow.
(“Desperado”, by Glenn Frey and Don Henley.)

I wanted my guy to figure out that he needed to play the queen of hearts, and I wanted him to let somebody love him before it was too damn late!

And I also wanted to keep it short, because if I was given the opportunity, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from making the poor guy babble on like some character from Dawson’s Creek.  I knew I couldn’t do laconic long-term, but I hoped I might make it if I kept things short.

So, I wrote my first short story, “Rode Hard and Put Away Wet”.  I’m really pleased with it.  Some of my early readers encouraged me to expand it, and turn it into a novella or even a novel, but I didn’t trust myself.  I felt like I got it just right, as a short story – any longer, and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to start babbling.

As always, I’d love to hear what you think.  I’ll be in and out of the blog today, or I can be reached through my website at katesherwoodbooks.com.

Lost Treasure Postscript – free!

November 2, 2010

I can’t help myself – I need to check in on my characters from time to time, in order to make sure that they’re still okay!

If you’re interested in seeing what the Lost Treasure gang are up to, you can read Lost and Found.  It’s just shmoopy, nothing too serious – but it’s set after the end of the book, so don’t read it until you’re finished with Lost Treasure itself.

I hope you like it!

Lost Treasure by Kate Sherwood

October 25, 2010

Lost Treasure by Kate Sherwood is now available in paperback and eBook.

When Kyle Champlain’s grandmother, Molly, passes away, he returns to Wetlake, Canada, to settle her estate. Kyle spent his summers in Wetlake as a child, and now he has the chance to renew his acquaintance with some old friends, including Ryan Summers, before going home to Chicago. But when Kyle tries to pressure Ryan into a business decision, their renewed friendship—and any possible attraction—is almost immediately on the rocks.

As Kyle begins to deliver the personalized bequests from Molly’s will, he meets an odd assortment of people from all walks of life and realizes he has a lot to learn about living and love. But he’ll have to fight his parents, suspicious beneficiaries, and Ryan’s fears if he plans to stay in Wetlake.

Genre: Contemporary

Out of the Darkness by Kate Sherwood

August 9, 2010

Out of the Darkness by Kate Sherwood is now available in paperback and eBook.

Sequel to Dark Horse

“It’s hard enough with two people. Throwing a third into the mix is… I don’t know, doesn’t it seem like we’re asking for trouble?”

It hasn’t been easy, but horse trainer Dan Wheeler is beginning to build a new life for himself, finding his place in California with his lovers Evan Kaminski and Jeff Stevens. When things are going well, it’s spectacular: there’s affection, humor, and passion. But things don’t seem to go well all that often.

Dan continues to struggle with the loss of his previous lover and sometimes doubts that he even deserves to be happy; Evan is jealous of every rival for Dan’s attention—including Jeff; and Jeff worries that he’s too old for the younger men and wonders if he should bow out completely. Despite his resolutions, Dan has grown attached to the other two men, but he’s not sure that’s enough. He knows that it hurts to be together—he needs to decide whether it would hurt even more to be apart.

Genre: M/M/M or more